The illustrative embodiments disclosed in the present application are useful in systems including those for arranging for shipping services.
In a typical retail environment, a shopper who wants to purchase one or more gift items in a store for a geographically distant relative or friend has to go to a second outlet to ship those items. For example, the shopper may go to a United States Postal Service (USPS) post office, a United Parcel Service (UPS) shipping center, or other parcel-shipping center. In such a case the customer may not be able to compare shipping service and prices in order to choose from among several carriers.
A shipping service may be provided in another area in a store. In such cases, the shopper will undertake two separate payment transactions—one for the goods and one for the shipping charges. Retailers who desire to provide shipping as a service to their customers are not only concerned about carrier compliance but are also concerned about any potential danger or liability regarding shipping hazardous material out of the store.
Retailers are also concerned from a loss prevention perspective if an in-store shipping service could provide an opportunity for theft. To address these issues, retailers either do not offer a shipping service or have to dedicate a resource at the customer service desk to provide the service.